SARAH BARR

Saints and Mortals

"Saints' lives are portrayed here in Barr's small and intimate paintings that demand our close attention. The sense of the miniature that was a vital expression of painters in the Middle Ages is added here to the works' mood of treasured discovery.

Yet it is the reality of these images that is paramount, because various friends of the artist posed for her as the saint of their choice.''

Victoria Donohoe, The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Barr's postcard-size paintings are even more inventive. She depicts people close to her as contemporary incarnations of saints with whom they identify.

Each painting combines recognizable saintly attributes with personal ones. One doesn't need to know the subjects to appreciate how neatly Barr has brought together the sacred and the profane.''